Ear of the Gods
by Roxurworld
Summary: Ear of the Gods follows a group of unlikely friends from their small home in the Moonwood to the far reaches of Faerun, on an adventure that transcends the planes of existence and makes the group question everything they have ever known. Evil haunts their every move, and soon they ask themselves, is it truly a blessing or a curse to have the Ear of the Gods?
1. Chapter 1

_I don't remember when it hit me, the weight of it crashing into me like waves upon rocks. The gravity of the situation had always been present, but the weight of it was only in the backs of our minds; we were just barely adults, only a few months out of adolescence... We couldn't comprehend the dangers of leaving. But in our naive, adventurous minds this is what we were meant to do, we told ourselves. This was the path that was laid out before us, and thus, we must take it._

_ How wrong we were and how foolish we were to believe as such._

Kaelin woke up with his arms and legs intertwined with the soft limbs of his lover and soon to be wife, Tierne. Slowly, he pulled himself from her grasp and stood from bed, the cool morning air raising bumps on his skin. He heard a soft groan come from the bed and he turned to see Tierne roll over and peek at him through squinted eyes.

"You're up early," she stated, her voice a raspy croak. Kaelin smiled and even without turning around he knew she was pouting. Tierne did not like that Kaelin was an early waker; she was content to lay in bed all day and run around all night.

"My dear little night owl," Kaelin cooed softly, turning around and holding a hand out to her, "The greatest joy in life is to watch the sunrise, to see the birth of a new day,"

She rolled over and groaned, throwing the covers over her head. With a laugh, Kaelin jumped onto the bed with her and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her softly on the cheek.

"If you would rather lay in bed all day, go right ahead... Falcata, Beorn and I will just leave on our adventure without you!" he whispered in her ear, brushing her stark white hair off of her dark, lavender skin. Tierne was a Drow, also known as a Dark Elf. She was uncommon on the surface of Faerun, her species inhabiting the beautiful and dangerous cities of the Underdark. She rolled over again to face Kaelin and opened her sea green eyes, so unusual for this most unusual of races, and a but smile spread across his face as he saw the twinkle in them.

"Is it today already?!" She cried, leaping from bed. She quickly covered herself up though, for in her excitement she forgot that we had fallen asleep nude. Surely she was not embarrassed to be so bare before Kaelin, her lover and soon to be husband, but before her elderly neighbors certainly she was! Reaching for any kind of cover to the all too keen eyes of her Moon Elf neighbor, Kaelin tossed her a white lace undershirt and a matching pair of undergarments and laughed.

"It has been today for five hours already love. I'll leave you to your preparations; I'm meeting Falcata and Beorn at The Warehouse to collect our things. We will see you there," Kaelin said, leaning over and kissing her on the cheek. What a contradicting couple they were! Kaelin, with his affinity for the day and Tierne with hers for the night. Even their appearances were polar opposites; Kaelen worse his jet black hair in a long ponytail, his bangs tucked neatly behind his ears and his complexion light, while Tierne kept her white hair short, barely reaching the middle of her neck and her bangs long, drooping past her cheek and her complexion dark.

Kaelen left their small wooden cabin and adjusted his newly acquired forest green cloak, ensuring the clasp about his neck wasn't loose. He brought his fingers to his lips and let loose a high pitched whistle and waited.

Sure enough, a few moments later the brush to his side began to rustle and Kaelen prepared myself. Out of the brush leaped a wolf, but no normal wolf. Try a wolf the size of a horse! Kaelen leaped straight up as the wolf rushed in, and spinning a half circle in the air, landed on the back of the beast, grabbing a handful of its hair in one hand and patting it on the head with the other.

"Prompt as always, dear Faer," he spoke softly to the wolf, scratching him behind the ear. With a low growl, Faer stomped his back foot until Kaelen stopped scratching. Apparently, he had found a good spot. Holding onto his fur as a reign and using his knees to guide him, Kaelen sent him into a gallop towards the bulk of the mostly Elven city.

_So there we were, the four of us and my dearest companion and friend Kael, ready to set out on the first great adventure of our lives. Naive, young, stupid and brash all of us. To us, adventure was just that; adventure. It was running so far ahead of your parents in the woods that you lost sight of them and felt completely alone. It was the first time experiencing young love, the first time experiencing the tender touch of that love, the gentle caress of a hand on face, or hand upon breast. It was testing just how far you could leap from tree to tree, and how far you could run from shadow to shadow after curfew. _

_ Adventure is holding all that you cherish and futilely grasping at it as it melts away like butter on a hot summer day._

"Bah! I knew she'd be runnin' late. The sun ain't even o'erhead yet ye dolt!" Kaelen heard as he approached the weapons shop, The Warehouse, atop his wolf-mount Faer. With a smile, he brought Faer to a halt beside a curious looking dwarf and a massive human girl.

"Have faith, Beorn. I am sure she will arrive shortly; she was the most excited of us to leave" the tall human, Falcata, named after the blade they found in her hand, explained, flipping her long blonde hair out of her face.

"Hmph! She'd better, or else she'll be findin' her adventurin' hard with me boot in her arse!" Beorn grumbled, but his companions could only laugh. Beorn often spoke as such, but his oaths to shove boots where they don't belong often fell short.

"Falcata is right, Beorn! Have faith. Tierne shall not be far behind me; she was gathering her things together as I left. Come, let us get our things and enjoy a meal before we leave," Kaelen said with a chuckle, patting his dwarf friend on the shoulder. Still grumbling, Beorn slammed the doors to The Warehouse open and stomped in, leaving his friends standing in the doorway shaking their heads.

"Fine day to be awoken early, I suppose," Falcata remarked, looking down at her Elf friend. Standing at six foot seven, it was common for Falcata to appear to be talking to her feet among the shorter Elf inhabitants.

"This it is, dear Falcata. That it is," Kaelen wholeheartedly agreed, following his loud dwarven friend in.

Inside they found Beorn wildly swinging his hammer around, bashing in the heads of unseen enemies, cursing and spitting the whole time. The owner, an Elf fighter by the name of Lav'ael, large by Elf standards but still dwarfed by Falcata, watched the Dwarf with a smile, his hand resting easily on the hilt of his self-crafted Elven Curveblade.

"Please, Sir Dwarf, if you plan to ever leave this town you will temper your fury in my shop; for if you are to break anything, you will spend the rest of your days working to replace it!" Lav'ael shouted above the long string of curses emitting from beneath a freshly made pile of armor.

"Oh, hush ye durned Elf..." Beorn grumbled, only his large dwarven nose and the head of his hammer sticking out of the pile. Stifling a laugh, Lav'ael moved over to help the Dwarf out from under the pile of armor. Grumbling and mumbling per typical Dwarf fashion, Beonr stroked his scruffy chin and hobbled away, his knee not nearly as bruised as his ego. Lav'ael shook his head and frowned, the scraggly beard upon the Dwarfs face a reminder of how young this small troupe truly was. He turned towards Falcata and Kaelen and smiled, bowing deeply.

"Ah yes, hello young Masters. I was wondering when you would be joining your loud friend here. Come, I have your gear ready and waiting for you over here," Lav'ael motioned for the human and Elf to follow and they did, eager to see the gifts Lav'ael was to bestow upon them.

"Wait! Wait I said! Here I am!" a voice from outside cried. Cringing, his eyes filled with rage suddenly, Lav'ael turned to the door. He did well to qwell his anger, but Kaelens elf eyes were quicker. He frowned, aware of the dark history Lav'ael shared with the Drow but said nothing. He smiled at Tierne, pulling her into a tight hug. He gave her a soft kiss on the lips and motioned for Lav'ael to continue. Lav'ael moved over to his workbench and reached under, pulling a lever that opened a chest sitting against the wall opposite of the trio. Excitedly, Tierne was the first to the chest, pulling out a beautifully crafted short sword and dagger wrapped in light leather armor. She looked at Lav'ael and smiled widely, her sea green eyes practically popping from her head in excitement.

"Thank you, Master Lav'ael! They are truly beautiful..." she sighed, her fingers trembling as she ran them down the flat of the blade. He merely nodded at her and turned his attention to Kaelen and Falcata. Falcata could hardly surpress her smile as she reached in and pulled out a finely wrought chain shirt and falcata blade, her namesake weapon. Kaelen inhaled sharply as he reached in and pulled out his weapon; an Elven Curveblade to match Lav'ael, his instructor of the past twenty years. He looked up at his master, mentor and friend and could find no words.

"Say nothing, dear, dear Kaelen. It is not often I craft a curveblade for it is no simple or cheap task. But you were a natural, and I could not rightfully deny you a weapon so designed for your hand," he explained, his eyes brimming with moisture.

"Thank you, Master Lav'ael... Thank you. You have done more than any of us could have ever possibly-" a great crash from behind the group cut Kaelen off mid-sentence and a collective groan let out as the source of the noise became evident. Blood dripping from yet another broken nose, Beorn stood staring up at a pedestal where a massive hammer once rested, which now lay on the floor next time his, blood splattered atop it's marvelous head.

"Well I'll be a bearded gnome..."Beorn muttered before falling backwards and to the floor, the force of the hammer knocking him out cold. With a resigned sigh, Falcata walked over to her defeated friend and rested his head in her lap. Resting her fingers on his broken nose, she fell into a quiet prayer to Tymora for the power to heal Beorn. With an audible crack that made the audience of three flinch, Beorn rose to a sitting position roaring, the blood on his face giving him a rather intimidating presence.

"Well then? Have a good laugh at me will ye already so we can get on our merry way!" he roared, his face reddening so much that the blood merely blended in. Shaking her head, Falcata stood and offered Beorn a hand that she knew very well he wouldn't take.

Lav'ael watched the young group of four as they left the village, their armor and weapons resting comfortably on their persons, their bags secured to their backs and their heads held high. Their laughter was carried back to him by the wind and he breathed it in, closing his eyes.

"Whatever Gods may be listening... Hear my prayers. Go, follow these four. They are young, they are naive, but they do not deserve pain. Help them along their way," he whispered. While not a very spiritual man, Lav'ael knew the workings of clerics and druid to be a powerful thing, but much was his surprise when a unicorn appeared on the trail before him and seemed to stare directly into his soul. The unicorn turned from him and slowly trotted down the path, dissapating into a colorful mist as it reached the edge of his vision. He blinked, unsure of whether he had been seeing things and when he looked again, the group of four and the massive wolf were gone. He could only hope that his prayers had truly been heard.

If only he knew who had been listening to them.


	2. Chapter 2

"_Whatever Gods may be listening... Hear my prayers. Go, follow these four. They are young, they are naive, but they do not deserve pain. Help them along their way," _a voice drifted in, reaching the ears of a truly mighty being. Shifting in her throne, the Goddess smirked, standing slowly. Spiders crawled away from her feet as she gently walked across the throne room to her scrying bowl.

"What have we here..." she purred between sharp teeth, her delicate lips belying her deadly nature.

"Oh my... What _do_ we have here...?" the Goddess asked again, her scrying device focusing on a Drow walking alongside a Human, Elf, Dwarf and massive wolf. The Drow looked around, feeling an unwanted presence watching her. The Goddess did not care, even chuckled at the girls distress. Imploring her scrying orb to find the source of the prayer, it rested on a aging but still young Elf watching the four. With another wry grin, the Goddess summoned an image of a Unicorn and set it to prancing across the path in front of the Elf. A serene expression came across his handsome face and when the travellers disappeared from view, he made his way back to his home.

"How easily these mortals can be duped... Come, my sweet; follow these foolish adventurers... Ensure their little, 'adventure' is anything but painless!"

A spider no larger than the size of a pebble disappeared in a puff of smoke, mindless yet understanding its mission clearly. The seeds of chaos had been set.

And Lady Lloth would have it no other way.

_We had no idea what an unsuspecting Lav'ael had set into motion. Who would have known, truly? None can decipher the will of the Gods no matter how goodly they might presume to be. Even mighty clerics can only guess as to what the will of their chosen deity may be, and how their actions might better serve that will. Lav'ael surely meant us no harm, but that does not change the consequences nor the outcome. A deep change came over one of us in those first few weeks out of our home, and for our part, we did nothing but watch._

"We should make camp; night is almost upon us," Falcata remarked as the sun slowly began to sink behind the trees. Tierne scoffed and flipped her long bangs out of her face, turning to face the massive cleric.

"I think should continue long into the night; we haven't even left the Moonwood yet!" Tierne complained, her hand gripping the hilt of her short sword tightly. Beorn snorted and shook his head, his heavy hammer bouncing on his shoulder.

"That's why we oughta be makin'camp; even a blockhead like meself knows to be well rested afore leavin' these woods. Not nearly as many bows protectin' yer arse once we leave the protection o' these trees," Beorn explained, shooting a knowing look Kaelens way.

"Beorn speaks truthfully, my love. I agree with Falcata; we should set camp for the night. Baldur's Gate is not going anywhere," Kaelen said from atop Faer, eliciting a glare from Trienne. The group had agreed earlier on in the day to head to Baldur's Gate first to see what aid the port city might require from a young group of aspiring heroes.

"Aye, and even in these woods we're not completely safe; the wood is large and the Elves are short. In number, that is," Falcata said with a sly wink at Kaelen. He took it in stride, glancing dramatically up at Falcata, who stood above him even as he sat on the back of Faer. The group shared a laugh, but cut short quickly as they heard gutteral voices from up ahead. Motioning for his companions to quiet, Kaelen slid from Faers back and rested his hand on the beasts head, closing his eyes.

The others said nothing, only watched the silent conversation between Kaelen and Faer. After a few moments, Kaelen told the others to stay put, that he and Faer would scout ahead and see what was ahead. Creeping forward, making no more noise than would a mouse scurrying along the ground, Kaelen peered through the bushes and his eyes opened wide at the scene before him.

Six orcs stood in a wide clearing, one of them slowly spinning a freshly killed boar over a fire. Two stood off to the side, arguing about something in their gutteral language while the other three were wandering around the clearing, weapons drawn. Kaelen slipped away and back to his friends and shook his head.

"Orcs, six of them that I could see up ahead. It's odd that they would be in the Moonwood, most stay far from here, even the Many-Arrows. It surprises me that the sentries wouldn't have slain them outright, or at least turned them away," Kaelen explained, beads of sweat forming on his brow. Beorn gripped his hammer and dropped the head into his palm, a wide smile growing on his face.

"What's it matter? What matters is that they're Orcs, they're here, an' they shouldn't!" he said excitedly, bouncing the head of his hammer off of his palm. Kaelen shook his head, and to his dismay Tierne drew her weapons, grinning at Beorn.

"If Kaelen wishes to pansy out on our first fight, so be it, but I won't! Come on, Beorn. Let's split some smelly orc heads!" Tierne growled, drawing curious stares from her friends. Slipping ahead of everyone, she disappeared into the brush, her Drow heritage coming forth in her stealth. Shaking his head, Kaelen followed her, trusting Faer to cause the distraction he knew they would need. Beorn and Falcata shared an uneasy glance.

"I'm as ready to spill Orc guts as the next person, but..."

"There was somethin' odd in the way little Tierne said that, for sure..." Beorn agreed, finishing Falcata's thought for her. Shrugging, they followed their friends, hoping this new change in Tierne was not permanent and fueled only by her lust for adventure.

None of them even noticed the small spider that had burrowed itself under Tierne's skin, just above her left shoulderblade.

The two Orcs to the side of the clearing continued arguing, oblivious to the massive wolf stalking them only a few feet away.

Faer, unusually stealthy for a creature his size, crept into position and waited the signal it new to be coming soon from Kaelen.

Softly setting in next to Kaelen, Beorn had his hammer ready just as Kaelen had his bow drawn and trained on the Orc spinning the boar over the fire.

"Ye best be a good shot with that thing Long Ears, else you'll be diggin' me boot out of yer arse once I'm done diggin' the arrow out of mine!" Beorn whispered gruffly, patting Kaelen on the rump. Kaelen could only smile at his scruffy friend.

"My dear Beorn... I doubt I could even aim that low," Kaelen remarked, signaling Faer to attack even as Beorn turned to glare angrily at his Elven friend.

A blur of grey shot out from the brush across from Beorn and Kaelen, knocking the two arguing Orcs to the ground and tearing the throat from unfortunate one Faer had pinned. The other struggled to its feet, a rage filled roar escaping its throat as it threw itself at Faer, drawing a crudely crafted sword.

Using the wolf as a distraction, Beorn burst from his bush as well, roaring with his hammer held high. An arrow flying through the narrow gap between Beorn's head and his hammer hilt hit the Orc by the fire in the chest, but that was the least of its worries at Beorn's hammer caved its face in, leaving it in a bloody head as it fell to the ground quite dead.

Another arrow caught the closest patrolling Orc as it rushed in towards Beorn, and from a tree branch above it fell Tierne, her short sword leading. Using her momentum, she pierced the unfortunate Orc through the back and grinned as her sword stabbed all the way through the Orc. Yanking the sword from the Orc, she barely deflected a thrown spear with her dagger, the tip grazing her arm. Ignoring the dying Orc before her, she turned to the thrower, an Orc charging her way and drawing a sword to replace his thrown spear. It's rage completely focused on Tierne, it had no way of dodging Falcata, who dashed from a bush next to it to tackle him to the ground.

Falcata slammed the hilt of her blade into its temple, dazing the Orc. Hardly defeated, the brutish Orc rolled Falcata over and slugged her hard in the face, drawing blood from her nose. In response, Falcata headbutted the Orc, rolling it over once more and driving her sword up through its gut, the tip sticking out through its throat. The Orc gasped for air but only a grotesque gurgling sound came from it and fell limp, its lifeblood pouring from its grevious wound.

Faer accepted the first blow from the raging Orc, its pathetic excuse of a sword not even drawing blood on the massive wolf. Leaping to the side, Faer swiped one massive paw at the Orc and drew deep lines of blood on its chest, then swiped again creating a pattern. Enraged beyond pain, the Orc threw itself at Faer again, its eyes as red as the blood dripping from its chest. Faer jumped back, swiped again and sat down, looking at the Orc with what could be perceived as a grin on its muzzle. The Orc stopped, confused then simply fell apart at the chest, a gory mess spilling onto the grass.

The last Orc, its desire for battle lost, quickly fled the clearing. Or, tried to at least as an arrow fell from the sky and stuck him in the back of the neck, dropping him to the ground where he lay very still.

"Gwahaha!" Beorn roared more than laughed, "There's a lesson learned, ye worthless, smelly..." He trailed off as he noticed Falcata and Kaelen staring across the clearing at Tierne.

Tierne stood staring down at the Orc she had slain, the front of her covered in dark Orc blood and her blade held out in front of her.

"It's funny..." she called to her friends, "How simple it is to simply... Snuff out a life. To pierce a beating heart and to lay it still with nothing more than this, a few feet of iron,"

"Tierne..." Kaelen whispered, a sinking feeling in his stomach. Falcata rested a hand on his shoulder and shook her head, the same feeling in her stomach.

"Give her time to adjust. None of us have killed before; nothing like this, at least. Killing things capable of rational thoughts is... Unsettling, to say the least," Falcata said, dropping her hand to the hilt of her blade. Kaelen took a deep breath and nodded, giving Falcata a small smile.

"Thank you, friend. Now, more pressing matters!" Kaelen called to Tierne, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"What?" she snapped back, anger flashing in her eyes. Taken aback, Kaelen looked away, if only to hide the sadness in his eyes. With a low growl, Faer walked over to him and licked him on the cheek, throwing Tierne a dangerous glare.

"I'm... Sorry, Kaelen. I'm not sure what..." Tierne said, trailing off and Kaelen shook his head.

"It's fine, my love. I was only going to suggest that we just use this campsite as our own. There is already a large tent set up, as well as this boar that is nearly finished cooking. To the victor goes the spoils, yes?" Kaelen said with a chuckle, patting Beorn on the back.

"Aye... That they do my friend," Beorn agreed, sharing a knowing look with Falcata. Kaelen set to finishing the boar with Tierne, while Beorn and Falcata wandered the clearing to ensure all threats had been taken care of.

"Somethin' odd is goin' on here, Falcata... An' I'm not likin' it one bit," Beorn motioned towards Tierne, who was back to her happy, lighthearted self, even doing a small dance around the fire while Kaelen turned the boar. Falcata nodded, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I agree, Beorn. Something odd,"

_That first fight... We should have known then. It was so unlike her to be so dark, so dangerous. She had always been different, but not so much that... I don't know. It was a side of her that we didn't know, a side of us that made us worry. None of us had slain a rational creature before; not something as intelligent (relatively speaking) as an Orc... Boars, deer, animals that we needed to survive on, yes, but not a humanoid creature. All of were hesitant in our first strikes, but Tierne was deadly with her strikes, with no hesitation. And that, above all else, had me worried. Had us all worried. Had we noticed the strange bump on her shoulder, had one of us just seen that which was out of place, then maybe she wouldn't have... Hindsight, they say, is 20/20 and how painfully true that statement strikes, how painfully that statement stings when I think back to that day..._


End file.
